At lunch the other day with my senior friends, the subject of our country’s dependence on Near-East oil took up most of our discussions. I had a definite opinion.

It’s a sobering and dangerous prospect to consider that we are beholden (as are most of the world’s industrialized nations) to a few ambitious and largely unfriendly nations for a major source of our energy needs. This is especially ironic in view of the fact that America was probably the first to discover underground sources of oil right here in Pennsylvania and sit on probably billions of barrels of oil yet to be tapped in the gulf of Mexico, Alaska and the far west if we are to believe the experts who tell us so.

If we’re denied Near-East sources of oil, our economy would be ruptured and our way of life would slump to the level of a developing nation virtually over night. Like the water rights conflicts in the early west, world conflicts over oil could easily erupt as well.

Yet, where is the outrage over our reluctance to drill for more of our own oil as soon as possible and to build more refineries starting right now since it’s apparent that alternative energy sources such as wind, thermal, nuclear, hydro, ethanol and hydrogen will not be able to stem the tide for more and more petroleum as world economies continue to expand.

Our nation helped to develop the oil fields of the Near-East because it was a cheap alternative to developing our own fields and in the bargain made the potentates of those nations and key oil executives in America wealthy beyond belief. American stockholders weren’t unhappy either. But, now the Arabs hold the cards and we have ourselves to blame.

Hind sight is 20/20, but it’s not too late to begin to help ourselves to the oil we already have at our disposal and for our future generations to rely on.

AvertingWWIII could depend on our willingness to start riding ourselves of the oil blackmail we face in the future.

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moved to Pittsford as a teenager and attended Pittsford-Mendon High School. Her greatest passion is as a lover of and advocate for the arts and music. Donna attended Rhode Island School of Design and earned an MFA from R.I.T. She’s a free-lance art director, advertising photographer and copywriter. Her love of narrative and film has led her to direct and produce short films.

Donna developed her awareness of and concern for environmental issues after being
exposed to the chemicals in artist materials in art schools in the US and Canada which
made her ill for a time. Healthy today, she finds pleasure in nature, writing, and music.
She enjoys Pittsford for its picturesque locations, wildlife, and community involvement.

was born in Rochester, lived here for a while until his dad was transferred to Connecticut ("Thanks, Xerox."). Then a few years later they came back to Fairport ("Thanks again, Xerox."), but Bill went to Pittsford schools. He moved over to Pittsford in 1979. He worked a bunch of jobs, played in bands, went back to MCC and then U of R for a Bachelor's degree in the early 90's. Shortly after that, he moved to NYC with his wife, Laura, where he worked at Ogilvy & Mather and Christie's doing tech support. They moved out to Northern Virginia during the Internet boom, hoping to get rich quick, but missed that boat. They moved back to Pittsford in 2001, along with two boys. Bill still plays guitar with the Chinchillas, the Squeaky Chair Jazz band, and the Steve Greene Trio occasionally.

"Though all communities and areas get a certain reputation (deserved or not), there is a good quality of life here, and the bulk of the people I have met here and places I have been to reflect that," Bill says. "My reason for wanting to blog about the town is at least twofold -- to vent my views and continue with writing, but also to force myself to engage in the environment in which I live. Too many people complain there is nothing to do or see, but they never actually get out and look. I don't want to be like that."